The Sense of Coherence as a Determinant of Health Aaron Antonovsky (1984)

Salutogenic Medicine, or what makes us good swimmers in the river of life?

Pathogenic medicine is aimed at rescuing people, at great expense, from a raging river, without taking into consideration how they got there and why they are not better swimmers. In contrast, - seen from the perspective of health education - people are seen to jump into the river of their own volition, while at the same time refusing to learn to swim.

Salutogenic medicine looks at this metaphor differently; the river is the steam of life. None walks the shore safely. Moreover, much of the river is polluted, literally and figuratively. There are forks in the river that lead to gentle streams or to dangerous rapids and whirlpools.

The question arises:" Wherever one is in the stream - whose nature is determined by historical, social-cultural, and physical environmental conditions - what shapes one's ability to swim well?

"We are all terminal cases. But so long as there is a breath of life in us,

we are all in some measure healthy"

Our health is determined to a large degree by experiencing the world we live in with :

A sense of comprehensibility, a sense of manageability and a sense of meaningfulness.

Aaron Antonovsky (1923-1994)"